Our colleague at Al-Ahram daily's diplomatic section, Basil Yousry, has obtained a master's degree in journalism with a grade of distinction for his study entitled the Relationship Between Ownership, Finance, and Freedom of the Press in Lebanon. The process was supervised by Mahmoud Alam El-Din, professor of journalism at Cairo University; and the discussion was led by Mohamed Kamal, director of the Institute for Research and Arab Studies, and Professor of Media Hamdy Hassan.

Yousry touched on a number of central issues in the Lebanese press, as it represents a unique model in the Arab world in terms of its ownership pattern, its divisions, and the dependence of some of its owners on foreign countries in search of funding to promote them in return.

Yousry delved into the legislation regulating Lebanese journalistic work and freedoms and came to the conclusion that Lebanon enjoys great freedom in expressing opinion but lacks the existence of a free newspaper without the domination of a political authority, religious sect, or foreign state. The study ended with a set of actionable recommendations.

It is worth noting that Yousry is a holder of a National Defense College fellowship from the Nasser Higher Military Academy, which is the highest academic rank in strategic studies and national security awarded to civilians and military personnel.